The Supreme Court has declared the removal of former Auditor General Modou Ceesay from office as unconstitutional. The apex court said his removal was a violation of the Constitution and therefore null and void.
However, the Court refused to order his reinstatement, noting that the current Auditor General, Cherno Amadou Jallow, has been lawfully appointed and has been in office for about nine (9) months now.
Instead, the Court ordered that Modou Ceesay be paid all salaries, allowances and other benefits he would have earned for the remainder of his nine-year term of office guaranteed by the Constitution.
In its judgment, the Court held that it would not be in the public interest to reinstate Ceesay to office. The justices cited evidence adduced during the proceedings to the effect that the relationship between Ceesay and the Executive had irretrievably broken down, making it impracticable for Ceesay to return to office.
The ruling effectively kept the current Auditor General Cherno Amadou Jallow in office while ruling that the removal of Ceesay was unconstitutional and awarding Ceesay full financial compensation for the remainder of his term.
